Hi all, I have a question about how to work if total perfection, or as a craftsman leaving some flaws in it.I wonder, look at some jobs, if the economic value of a jewelry box is more being worked hand craft.

8 replies so far

wood is imperfect there are flaws inside the wood that you may not even see until you expose them, that said, you should always strive to do your best, but if a piece doesn’t want to live up to your expectations, sometimes it is best to step back from it for a few minutes, and then come back later and judge it, you may find that flaw you were so frustrated with is so miniscual that you shouldn’t sweat it.

-- The mark of a good carpenter is not how few mistakes he makes, but rather how well he fixes them.

Wood defects are inevitable, but only minor errors they know carpentry would realize, would serve to generate a business.In my particular case, I’m starting three months ago in carpentry, small-scale ornaments, boxes, tables, and other things, but I consider myself a craftsman, and in my country there are many things that are not done, but some studies have small defects, and intend to market with them.

The way you can generally tell a piece carved by hand from one carved by a c and c router is by the minor flaws, the hand carved is worth more.

The longer you are in woodworking the better your eye for flaws will get, and the more you will realize perfection does not truelly exist, there are some pieces that are pretty danged close, but still not perfect. What I’m saying is, that as long as you are happy with your work, and the customer is also, you’re good. I tend to try to make the piece far more flawless than the customer would ever notice, but in the end there are some things you just have to let go.

-- The mark of a good carpenter is not how few mistakes he makes, but rather how well he fixes them.

For me I’m not happy with anything that isn’t perfect. Obviously, this means that a lot of the time I’m not happy, I just can’t buy into the ‘handmade is flawed’ idea.

If I were paying a craftsman 10 x or more the price of an equivalent store bought piece of furniture, simply for the reason that I value the skill, time and experience of the maker, then I’d be pretty un-happy to find ‘flaws’ that I wouldn’t expect or accept on a cheaper mass-produced item. That being said, I will be far more likely to be on the receiving end of such a check than the giving end, so maybe other people’s expectations differ.

I have seen some workers whose work I would consider to be perfect though.

I strive for perfection, and except humanity. The level of perfection communicates the level of skill… With the Persian exception in mind. (The Persian flaw) (xx) (yy) I have had the pleasure of working in some sculptural grade projects. A quick definition of that would be: money was no object, perfection was expected. ohDear says this very well in his?(sorry could not tell from your profile) second sentence. The expectation was for the wood to have flaws, and not the craftsmanship. The flaws in each case were accentuated or eliminated according to the desires of the client.
I would answer your question by saying perfection should always be the goal, and should me mitigated by two things. The needs of the market, if made for others, and an understanding of your own needs for perfection, if made for yourself.
I can think of three quick markets for the jewelry box example. One is a nice looking, functional, cheap box. Machine made. Two is a well, and hand made, sustainable, green, local sourced, box. Some proof of some or all would be needed and marketed. These are manifest as flaws, certifications, pictures, or just lies. Three is a rare, high quality, no dispute, non re-producible, box. This is the antique and art market, and is subject to serious levels of both taste, and free time to apply those tastes.
Those examples lead me to this conclusion. Your question is a MARKETING question and not a woodworking question. Why not pursue a craft to the point that perfection is something that can be played with, just to pay homage to the lord.

If you are doing commercial work, flaws are usually not acceptable, but if you are doing it as a hobby or as a craftsman project (not for sale), then minor flaws are OK. In fact, minor flaws give character to a project. As a craftsman, don’t try to compete with machine made products that are turned out biscuit fashion in factories.